(AN: Mega Man X and Co. are owned by Capcom. (Enter witty remark here)
Anyone can use my characters, if they ask me first, of course
R&R, please, folks. I really should do that, too...I will if you will, promise!)
Chapter 4: Before the Storm
Looking into the room, one might think it was a young woman's apartment. A small bed, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a desk filled the otherwise bare room. Books and reports were tossed haphazardly around. A girl in pink pajamas was typing at her computer.
HE'S LOSING IT, ALIA...HE NEEDS SOL MORE THAN HE EVER LET ON...
"Well, nice to see you, too, Mr. Romantic..." Alia said, yawning. "Do you know what time it is?!"
YOU WERE NEVER ASLEEP AT ONE IN THE MORNING.
"Ha. Ha. Ha." She was in her quarters, typing madly away at her computer, as usual. "It's been, what, 50 years? And when you do step out of the shadows, who do you ask about FIRST? Night. Geez..."
48 YEARS...3 MONTHS, 6 DAYS, 14 HOURS, 27 MINUTES, SHALL I KEEP GOING?
"Good to know you cared." Alia sighed, her hands stopping as she read the screen. "He's taking it hard. Our new medic has had enough of him. Scorches, shrapnel wounds, plasma blasts, simulated falls...I had to lock him out of the simulator. He's bursting at the seams, and he wants blood."
HE WON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR LONG...
"I know..." she said. Her expression darkened at the memories she had of the only Uprising she had seen, the Fourth. Some the images she'd seen as a cadet still haunted her after all those years. So many of her friends, both Hunters and Repliforce, were gone forever. "I wish you were here..."
THE TIME WILL COME...ONE OF US WILL MAKE THE FIRST MOVE, AND THE OTHER WILL MAKE THE LAST...WE ARE CONNECTED. THAT IS WHY THIS IS NECESSARY.
"You always knew what to say to cheer a girl up..." she muttered. She was broken from her reverie when her comm beeped. "Damn, those things are loud...Who is it?!"
"Commander, Lifesavor here. He's on the move again."
"Didn't I tell you to stop him?! Dammit!" She shook her head, turning back to her work. "Next time don't half-ass it, alright?!"
"Hey, no offense, sir, but I'd like to see you stop an angry teenager with arm blades throwing a temper tantrum!"
"Fine. I'm on my way." She slammed down her screen. With a mental command, her pajamas turned into her armor. "Stupid, reckless..."
OH, AND NICE PAJAMAS BY THE WAY...
"Shut up!!!" She burst out of the doors, blushing and cursing at the same time. "If the sims don't kill that dumbass, I swear I will!"
_____________________________________________________________
Night dashed his way down the halls, barely missing Hunters as he went. His paths of destruction always led to same place since the week before, and soon, no one could be found on the way to practice center. He practically knocked the door open as he ran into the simulator, sealing it behind him. He only slowed down to put on his shades and headphones and to put his favorite track on full volume. "Activate full attack simulation! Location: Cyberspace, Fourth Uprising! Time trial mode! Maximum difficulty!"
User registered as Night...ACCESS DENIED. RESTRICTED BY TACTICAL COMM-
"Override code, X-Y-Zero!"
...ACCEPTED! WARNING! Maverick General will be at full combat strength and real injury is possible. ACTIVATING IN 5....4...
"Let's kick some ass..." He activated his blades and fell into a ready stance.
SIMULATION READY. HAVE A NICE DAY.
The room suddenly shifted. The bare metallic walls were replaced by a surreal environment of numbers, text, and an array of flashing colors. As he stepped forward, a scanning grid surrounded him and activated. "Here we...GOOOO!!!!" With a double burst from his dash boots, he was off. The first path was simple enough, as he dodged the moving balls of energy and destroyed the flying triangles that flew at him. Reaching the portal, he hadn't even broken a sweat. The grid soon flew into the portal and a large S appeared within it as he ran onward.
The second time trial was a little hard. He found himself jumping and dashing wildly to avoid the draining spheres and didn't escape without a few scratches from the robots that appeared. As he turned to slice a bomber drone in half, he felt a shock run through his body. After a brief flash of pain, he was loose from the stray sphere and managed to drag himself to the portal as his internal energy fought to stabilize itself. It finally settled at 60%. "Shit!" He looked up to see a giant S glaring down at him. "Lucky son of a..." He dashed forward again, clawing pointlessly at the air in front of him.
The final level seemed easy enough at first after his painful lesson in field awareness. He made it unharmed to a seeming dead end, and cursed as he looked up. Sets of platforms went straight up, connected by ladders. Spheres and drones were everywhere. "Ah, SHIT!!!" He stood there dumbfounded as he felt his S rank slipping away.
USE THE SIDES, LUKE :-)
"What the..." He knew he saw the message on his shades, but it was gone before it could register in his mind. Looking up again, inspiration struck him and he dash jumped like he never had before. Using his grappler claws to grip the sides of the platforms, he kicked back and forth from one platform to the next, leaving most of the danger behind him. After that, it was a few quick dashes to the finish line. His third S was waiting for him as he arrived.
But then, much to his surprise, the course disappeared and was replaced with a rectangular chamber. As he looked around, he felt as if he were in the guts of a computer. "Hey, wait a minute..."
He was silenced as a form materialized behind him, spikes of plasma lashing out from its body. Insane laughter filled the room as night lay there, his internal systems rapidly trying to heal his new wounds. "Ugh...WHO ARE YOU?!!" Night jumped to his feet, blades at the ready.
"Who do you think, dumbass? This is MY simulation, isn't it?"
The birdlike reploid cackled madly, then disappeared. Night stood there, dumbfounded, until he dashed out of the way just in time to avoid another attack.
"Cyber Peacock...If it isn't Mr. Predictable himself..." With a scream or rage, Peacock blinked out again, to reappear almost instantly, behind Night, but found himself appearing to a double slash that knocked him to the wall.
"Like I said! Predictable!" Night ran forward to deliver the killing blow, but his target was gone too quickly. Night waited, then dashed backwards, but his enemy reappeared far away this time. "Stupid rookie! Take this!" Raising his arms, Peacock fired a barrage of plasma feathers, too many for Night to hope to dodge. He raised his blades in defense and closed his eyes, waiting for the KO.
_____________________________________________________________
Moments later, he opened his eyes, surprised that he wasn't hurt, but quickly wished he hadn't looked. "Alia!! Um, hi, er, hello, sir! Just mastering my new gear, sir, er, miss!"
"Cut the bull, Night. Number 1. You scared the living shit out of our chief medical officer. Number 2. You practically ran over anyone in your way. Number 3. You USED MY GOD-DAMNED CODE TO OVERRIDE YOUR RESTRICTION!!! Now, all of that, I'm willing to let all of that slide..." Night relaxed, turning off his blades.
"But I'll be GOD-DAMNED if you wake me up at 1 in the morning and get yourself BLASTED TO BITS!!!!" The room shook with the fury of her voice and boots could be heard outside as eavesdroppers suddenly decided to find a safer place to be.
"But, sir, I need to be ready! I need to save Sol!"
"I know, kid, but getting yourself totaled before the action isn't going to help him. We still don't know what they did back there, much less where they are. We have to let them make the first move." She walked up to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're the only real Hunter I've got left, Night. Don't let your anger get you killed..."
"I know, I know...but it's driving me insane! I need to, I gotta do SOMETHING!" Night yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. His breathing came out in gasps as he tossed his shades across the room. "This is all my fault..." He started to break down, tears streaming down his face. "They've got him because I let them get away!"
Alia put her arms around Night, trying to calm him. "Sometimes I forget you're still a kid in some ways...Look, Night, you did the right thing. X would be proud of you. I know I'm proud of you." Night nodded, wiping the tears from his face. "We'll get Sol back. But you have to be patient."
Night was about to say something when the HQ suddenly went insane. Alarm klaxons blared as red lights flashed all around. "Shit!" Alia's comm went off even louder than the sirens, making her curse under her breath. "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" she screamed, over the noise.
"Sir, please return to Tactical Command, we've got a situation!" a Hunter replied on the other end.
"What kind of situation?!" Alia yelled.
"It's the Angel Corps, sir! They're in the Elysium Robot Factory! They just sent us a message, and you need to see this!"
"Shit! On my way!" she said, turning off her comm. "Guess you don't need patience after all..."
_____________________________________________________________
The camera panned out to show people running and screaming in the background, humans and reploids alike. A solitary figure was standing still in the center of the confusion. The cam zoomed in on the young man and muted the sounds of the outside struggle as best it could. Short red hair rose in spikes from the man's head, and his red and white armor bore the symbol of the Angel Corps on his shoulder. A wide grin was stuck onto his face. He looked up at the camera, arms crossed, and his smile grew wide. "Night! My troops have claimed this factory in the name of the Truth! We Angels avenge our allies tenfold! Come alone, if you dare, and I'll gladly melt you down to scrap metal! I am Ignis, Angel of Fire, and I'm going to kick your-" The transmission cut out as a background explosion destroyed the camera.
(Well, that wasn't my best work, but I finally managed to get it out. Thank God. Please review, and I'll do my best to review some of the other stories ASAP. Reality can be so...time consuming. Good night, folks.)
R&R, please, folks. I really should do that, too...I will if you will, promise!)
Chapter 4: Before the Storm
Looking into the room, one might think it was a young woman's apartment. A small bed, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a desk filled the otherwise bare room. Books and reports were tossed haphazardly around. A girl in pink pajamas was typing at her computer.
HE'S LOSING IT, ALIA...HE NEEDS SOL MORE THAN HE EVER LET ON...
"Well, nice to see you, too, Mr. Romantic..." Alia said, yawning. "Do you know what time it is?!"
YOU WERE NEVER ASLEEP AT ONE IN THE MORNING.
"Ha. Ha. Ha." She was in her quarters, typing madly away at her computer, as usual. "It's been, what, 50 years? And when you do step out of the shadows, who do you ask about FIRST? Night. Geez..."
48 YEARS...3 MONTHS, 6 DAYS, 14 HOURS, 27 MINUTES, SHALL I KEEP GOING?
"Good to know you cared." Alia sighed, her hands stopping as she read the screen. "He's taking it hard. Our new medic has had enough of him. Scorches, shrapnel wounds, plasma blasts, simulated falls...I had to lock him out of the simulator. He's bursting at the seams, and he wants blood."
HE WON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR LONG...
"I know..." she said. Her expression darkened at the memories she had of the only Uprising she had seen, the Fourth. Some the images she'd seen as a cadet still haunted her after all those years. So many of her friends, both Hunters and Repliforce, were gone forever. "I wish you were here..."
THE TIME WILL COME...ONE OF US WILL MAKE THE FIRST MOVE, AND THE OTHER WILL MAKE THE LAST...WE ARE CONNECTED. THAT IS WHY THIS IS NECESSARY.
"You always knew what to say to cheer a girl up..." she muttered. She was broken from her reverie when her comm beeped. "Damn, those things are loud...Who is it?!"
"Commander, Lifesavor here. He's on the move again."
"Didn't I tell you to stop him?! Dammit!" She shook her head, turning back to her work. "Next time don't half-ass it, alright?!"
"Hey, no offense, sir, but I'd like to see you stop an angry teenager with arm blades throwing a temper tantrum!"
"Fine. I'm on my way." She slammed down her screen. With a mental command, her pajamas turned into her armor. "Stupid, reckless..."
OH, AND NICE PAJAMAS BY THE WAY...
"Shut up!!!" She burst out of the doors, blushing and cursing at the same time. "If the sims don't kill that dumbass, I swear I will!"
_____________________________________________________________
Night dashed his way down the halls, barely missing Hunters as he went. His paths of destruction always led to same place since the week before, and soon, no one could be found on the way to practice center. He practically knocked the door open as he ran into the simulator, sealing it behind him. He only slowed down to put on his shades and headphones and to put his favorite track on full volume. "Activate full attack simulation! Location: Cyberspace, Fourth Uprising! Time trial mode! Maximum difficulty!"
User registered as Night...ACCESS DENIED. RESTRICTED BY TACTICAL COMM-
"Override code, X-Y-Zero!"
...ACCEPTED! WARNING! Maverick General will be at full combat strength and real injury is possible. ACTIVATING IN 5....4...
"Let's kick some ass..." He activated his blades and fell into a ready stance.
SIMULATION READY. HAVE A NICE DAY.
The room suddenly shifted. The bare metallic walls were replaced by a surreal environment of numbers, text, and an array of flashing colors. As he stepped forward, a scanning grid surrounded him and activated. "Here we...GOOOO!!!!" With a double burst from his dash boots, he was off. The first path was simple enough, as he dodged the moving balls of energy and destroyed the flying triangles that flew at him. Reaching the portal, he hadn't even broken a sweat. The grid soon flew into the portal and a large S appeared within it as he ran onward.
The second time trial was a little hard. He found himself jumping and dashing wildly to avoid the draining spheres and didn't escape without a few scratches from the robots that appeared. As he turned to slice a bomber drone in half, he felt a shock run through his body. After a brief flash of pain, he was loose from the stray sphere and managed to drag himself to the portal as his internal energy fought to stabilize itself. It finally settled at 60%. "Shit!" He looked up to see a giant S glaring down at him. "Lucky son of a..." He dashed forward again, clawing pointlessly at the air in front of him.
The final level seemed easy enough at first after his painful lesson in field awareness. He made it unharmed to a seeming dead end, and cursed as he looked up. Sets of platforms went straight up, connected by ladders. Spheres and drones were everywhere. "Ah, SHIT!!!" He stood there dumbfounded as he felt his S rank slipping away.
USE THE SIDES, LUKE :-)
"What the..." He knew he saw the message on his shades, but it was gone before it could register in his mind. Looking up again, inspiration struck him and he dash jumped like he never had before. Using his grappler claws to grip the sides of the platforms, he kicked back and forth from one platform to the next, leaving most of the danger behind him. After that, it was a few quick dashes to the finish line. His third S was waiting for him as he arrived.
But then, much to his surprise, the course disappeared and was replaced with a rectangular chamber. As he looked around, he felt as if he were in the guts of a computer. "Hey, wait a minute..."
He was silenced as a form materialized behind him, spikes of plasma lashing out from its body. Insane laughter filled the room as night lay there, his internal systems rapidly trying to heal his new wounds. "Ugh...WHO ARE YOU?!!" Night jumped to his feet, blades at the ready.
"Who do you think, dumbass? This is MY simulation, isn't it?"
The birdlike reploid cackled madly, then disappeared. Night stood there, dumbfounded, until he dashed out of the way just in time to avoid another attack.
"Cyber Peacock...If it isn't Mr. Predictable himself..." With a scream or rage, Peacock blinked out again, to reappear almost instantly, behind Night, but found himself appearing to a double slash that knocked him to the wall.
"Like I said! Predictable!" Night ran forward to deliver the killing blow, but his target was gone too quickly. Night waited, then dashed backwards, but his enemy reappeared far away this time. "Stupid rookie! Take this!" Raising his arms, Peacock fired a barrage of plasma feathers, too many for Night to hope to dodge. He raised his blades in defense and closed his eyes, waiting for the KO.
_____________________________________________________________
Moments later, he opened his eyes, surprised that he wasn't hurt, but quickly wished he hadn't looked. "Alia!! Um, hi, er, hello, sir! Just mastering my new gear, sir, er, miss!"
"Cut the bull, Night. Number 1. You scared the living shit out of our chief medical officer. Number 2. You practically ran over anyone in your way. Number 3. You USED MY GOD-DAMNED CODE TO OVERRIDE YOUR RESTRICTION!!! Now, all of that, I'm willing to let all of that slide..." Night relaxed, turning off his blades.
"But I'll be GOD-DAMNED if you wake me up at 1 in the morning and get yourself BLASTED TO BITS!!!!" The room shook with the fury of her voice and boots could be heard outside as eavesdroppers suddenly decided to find a safer place to be.
"But, sir, I need to be ready! I need to save Sol!"
"I know, kid, but getting yourself totaled before the action isn't going to help him. We still don't know what they did back there, much less where they are. We have to let them make the first move." She walked up to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're the only real Hunter I've got left, Night. Don't let your anger get you killed..."
"I know, I know...but it's driving me insane! I need to, I gotta do SOMETHING!" Night yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. His breathing came out in gasps as he tossed his shades across the room. "This is all my fault..." He started to break down, tears streaming down his face. "They've got him because I let them get away!"
Alia put her arms around Night, trying to calm him. "Sometimes I forget you're still a kid in some ways...Look, Night, you did the right thing. X would be proud of you. I know I'm proud of you." Night nodded, wiping the tears from his face. "We'll get Sol back. But you have to be patient."
Night was about to say something when the HQ suddenly went insane. Alarm klaxons blared as red lights flashed all around. "Shit!" Alia's comm went off even louder than the sirens, making her curse under her breath. "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" she screamed, over the noise.
"Sir, please return to Tactical Command, we've got a situation!" a Hunter replied on the other end.
"What kind of situation?!" Alia yelled.
"It's the Angel Corps, sir! They're in the Elysium Robot Factory! They just sent us a message, and you need to see this!"
"Shit! On my way!" she said, turning off her comm. "Guess you don't need patience after all..."
_____________________________________________________________
The camera panned out to show people running and screaming in the background, humans and reploids alike. A solitary figure was standing still in the center of the confusion. The cam zoomed in on the young man and muted the sounds of the outside struggle as best it could. Short red hair rose in spikes from the man's head, and his red and white armor bore the symbol of the Angel Corps on his shoulder. A wide grin was stuck onto his face. He looked up at the camera, arms crossed, and his smile grew wide. "Night! My troops have claimed this factory in the name of the Truth! We Angels avenge our allies tenfold! Come alone, if you dare, and I'll gladly melt you down to scrap metal! I am Ignis, Angel of Fire, and I'm going to kick your-" The transmission cut out as a background explosion destroyed the camera.
(Well, that wasn't my best work, but I finally managed to get it out. Thank God. Please review, and I'll do my best to review some of the other stories ASAP. Reality can be so...time consuming. Good night, folks.)